Majority of Punjab air quality monitors dysfunctional as smog engulfs Pakistani province

Vehicles make their way amid heavy smog conditions in Lahore on November 17, 2021. (AFP)

• Judicial commission criticizes government for ineffective measures to contain issue
• Court asks authorities to ensure public, private offices operate with 50 percent staff

LAHORE: Five out of eight air quality monitors in industrial hubs in Pakistan’s Punjab have been dysfunctional for the last two years, a top environmental official said on Thursday, as smog engulfs the province and its capital, Lahore, ranks among the world’s most polluted cities.
Air pollution has worsened in Pakistan in recent years, as a mixture of low-grade diesel fumes, smoke from seasonal crop burn-off, and colder winter temperatures coalesce into stagnant clouds of smog.
An air quality monitor on Wednesday declared Lahore the most polluted city in the world, with residents choking in acrid smog and pleading with officials to take action.
The city reported an air quality ranking of 348, well over the hazardous level of 300, according to IQAir, the Swiss technology company that operates the AirVisual monitoring platform.
In recent years, residents have built their own air purifiers and taken out lawsuits against government officials in desperate bids to clean the air, but authorities have been slow to act and blame the smog on India or claim the figures are exaggerated.
“There are eight air quality monitors in Punjab,” Justice (retired) Ali Akbar Qureshi, chairperson of the Punjab Judicial Water & Environment Commission, told Arab News.
“One each in Faisalabad, Gujranwala and Multan and two out of five monitors in Lahore are out of order for the last two years.”
Qureshi, who was concerned over a lack of action by the Punjab government, said it was the responsibility of the Environment Protection Department (EPD) to install new monitors.
The provincial environmental commission had recommended a ban on stubble burning, industries without emission control systems, vehicles without fitness certificates and brick kilns operating on old technology by the end of the year, Qureshi said.
Emission from vehicles contribute 43 percent to the overall smog, while not making vehicle fitness certificates mandatory had worsened the situation, according to the official.
Other factors contributing toward air pollution are stone crushers operating without wet scrubbers, use of sub-standard fuels, activities generating fugitive dust, and uncovered transportation of construction material like sand, soil and cement.
Regretting non-seriousness of the government, Qureshi said the commission was itself taking action against industries and illegal brick kilns. “Up till now, the commission has collected Rs30 million in fine from industries violating orders and shut down 30 industrial units in Lahore alone.”
Qureshi’s comments came the same day the Lahore High Court (LHC) directed the Punjab government to ensure that all government and private offices function with 50 percent workforce in view of the smog situation.
Reached for comment, a senior EPD official said the air quality rankings shown by some private firms and individuals were “flawed.”
“Their monitors are giving 20-80 percent access reading. AQI being shown on social websites and Internet is not accurate,” EPD Deputy Director Farooq Alam said.
“These figures defamed Lahore as one of the most polluted cities in the world. The AQI reading available on the EPD website is the authentic one.”
The official said the Punjab government had decided to take strict action against companies and individuals disseminating wrong data.
Alam said dust was the main contributor to smog formation. “Anti-smog squads have been established to monitor and fine smoke-emitting transport on roads,” he noted.
Hassan Khawar, a spokesperson of the Punjab chief minister, told Arab News the government would start providing Euro-V fuel in Lahore after a week, besides setting up anti-smog squads in the city.
“But we can’t clear the mess of 70 years of misgovernance and misplaced focus in a few days, the government needs time to rectify the mechanism,” he said.
“I’ve grown up in the city (Lahore), I’ve lived in the city and have witnessed its deterioration with every passing year. No government took up the agenda of forestation and decarbonization and showed responsibility to control the air quality. It’s the first time that we’re talking about plantation of 10 billion trees and the results will be out in the coming years.”